Tch.
He had let his guard down today. As usual, she had beleaguered his personal space until he submitted. Why did he keep letting himself be caught off guard in the first place? He scowled. Still, she's not going anywhere so he might as well put up with her. He hadn't killed Toritsuka yet so his restraint was within acceptable tolerances. He still didn't know why he decided to say that last bit. It's not like anything would come of it. She'll probably just fade into the background eventually like the other 3.
Teruhashi had left a few minutes ago. Teruhashi had been happy as she left, so his mother seemed relieved and was able to put on a pleasant face. Her mind, however, questioned what had happened. He wasn't ready for that yet. He decided to let it go now and get some alone time.
*Ding Dong*
He didn't hear any thoughts at the door, so that could only mean one thing...
"Ou, Aibou's mom!"
Just my luck, he grimaced.
"Oh, Nendou-kun! I'm so glad you dropped by today! Ku-chan should be down soon!
"Ku-chan! Nendou-kun's here! Come say hi!" his mother called with her usual chipper attitude.
Saiki groaned for the second time today and started to walk downstairs.
As soon as Saiki came within view of the front door he heard, "Ou, Aibou!"
You just said that. Come up with some better lines, writer.
Nendou's face conveyed "happy to see you" in the signature Nendou style, a subtle combination of dopey, overenthusiastic, misleading, and stupid. If Nendou's face were a dish, it'd probably be at a Michelin star restaurant; praised for its complexity by food critics, but panned by anyone who had decent taste.
"I promised Chibi some ramen today, and I just happened to walk by your house! So I went to pick up my pal of course!" he exclaimed with childlike enthusiasm.
My house isn't even remotely on the way to his. You just got lost, Saiki said, having resigned to Nendou's antics since time immemorial.
Nendou scratched his head.
"Eh, you're probably right. Anyway, let's head out!" He pointed forward while turning all the way around to march out, just barely avoiding jamming his finger on the door frame.
I AM right, Saiki groused.
"Have fun you two!" His mother waved them out with a cheery smile.
With his mother behind him, there was no way he'd be able to avoid Nendou. It wasn't too bad because he'd avoid his mother's interrogation as well, he mused as they started to walk over to Kaidou's house. Nendou started a one-sided conversation about some bug he had caught yesterday.
"So the bug was about this big!" he shouted as he spread his hands apart about 6 inches.
That seems way too big for anything you'd find in Japan so Nendou is probably just overestimating its size. If it's even close to that big, the bug was probably pretty rare so that explains why he didn't come around yesterday, Saiki thought, barely suppressing his horrified balk.
"I still got it on me if you wanna see it!" Nendou said as he started digging around in his pockets, his tongue sticking out as if he were thinking hard about something.
What.
Nendou reached his hand into his shirt and pulled out a very large beetle that had two large horns that curved out and came together like a pincer. Saiki was gone with the wind as Nendou looked around and called out for his pal. The bug took this opportunity to fly away. Nendou tried unsuccessfully to grab it out of the air but it got away, making an odd sound that sounded like someone saying "aweigh" as it took its leave. It was probably someone down the street.
"Aw, darn. And I spent so long trying to catch the thing."
He cast his eyes down and sagged his shoulders, walking forward with a hunched over gait. Saiki decided to take pity on him and walk next to him again. If he remembered from biology, that was a hercules beetle. Weren't those only endemic to South America? Where did he even find that thing?
"Gahahaha, pal is afraid of bugs!" Nendou pointed and laughed at Saiki not even 5 seconds after the devastating loss of his new pet.
Saiki glowered at him.
Don't push your luck, idiot.
They reached Kaidou's house without further incident save the endless stream of detritus issuing from Nendou's mouth.
*Ding Dong*
"Oi, runt! Get your butt out here! I'm treating you to ramen!" Nendou called, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone.
"That's no way to treat someone you've wronged! You'd do well not to anger the Jet Black Wings!" Kaidou screeched indignantly from behind the cracked door.
Kaidou made his grand exit from his house, bursting out of the door with excessive fanfare. Saiki could tell Kaidou had something stupid up his sleeves, or lack thereof. He had cut them to look similar to his Undershima costume from the school play, complete with the crimson shirt.
Kaidou jumped out from the door and landed on one foot in a pose he probably learned from some quack youtube martial arts instructor. He was balanced on one foot and stood almost straight up with his arms hoisted aloft in a praying mantis position. His position was so unstable a slight draft of wind could knock him over. Was this pose supposed to be used for something other than a comedy bit?
"Hark! The Dark Omen is upon you! The Jet Black Wings has graced you with his presence!"
He's cycling through poses...
Nendou was watching him with a more vacant look than usual. His eyes had rolled back into his head.
"Let the Judgment Knights of Thunder deliver divine justice upon any who would cross myself or my friends! Or my name isn't... the Jet Black Wings!"
He ended his chuunibyou introduction in a martial arts power stance (notably used by Akuma of Street Fighter fame). He attempted to slam his foot down, but the slight breeze that would have knocked him over earlier instead picked up to muffle the thunderous end of his non-verbal boast. He almost fell over as he settled his hips down on his pointed toes, his arms presenting not even the slightest hint of musculature as he tightly drew them to his sides in an L-shaped pose. His legs quivered as he evidently waited for some manner of praise for that ridiculous charade.
How are you a dark omen and divine justice? And don't insult that pose. "Friend" is a bit of a stretch.
Nendou's eyes rolled back into place. He wasted no time spewing more ejecta.
"Gwahahahaha," Nendou laughed, covering his heart with his hand as he levied a mocking point at Kaidou. "Chibi, where'd you learn that? You could introduce yourself normally and you'd save yourself a lot of time and embarrassment. Those were some cool dance moves though, you should teach me sometime so I can woo some sexy ladies..." Nendou's voice descended as if he were trying to do a husky male adult film actor impression from a bad 80's adult flick. His eyes lowered and his lip twitched as if he were prepared to run his tongue between them.
Saiki questioned his appraisal of Nendou's childish innocence and good will.
At that time both Saiki and Kaidou formed a telepathic connection, sharing mutual violent retching at the thought of a woman unfortunate enough to be set upon by Nendou. The embarrassment of Kaidou's introduction had completely disappeared. Kaidou wasn't going to turn down free ramen though. Hopefully their appetites would come back by the time they got to the ramen shop.
On the way, Nendou and Kaidou were talking about where they thought the meteorite came from and how it was destroyed. Saiki tensed up a bit, but they didn't notice because he was walking behind them.
"Perhaps there is a force even more powerful than Black Beat in this world... I must find and harness this destructive power to become the ultimate crimson demon," Kaidou exclaimed with a visible constellation in his eyes.
I guess I'm even more potent than even his Dark Reunion delusions. Color me surprised, Saiki said as he blew air out of his nose with an inaudible chuckle.
Nendou shrugged. "Maybe it was a giant booger," he eloquently remarked
"From what nose?" Kaidou's voice pitched up a bit snapped his head over toward Nendou with youthful glee.
Who knows? It probably saw Nendou's face and turned tail, Saiki piped up.
Sorry Nendou, I hope you can forgive me for preserving my identity for a joke at your expense.
"Heeey, what's the big idea? My face is just fine!" Nendou leaned toward Saiki, who grimaced as Nendou's hot breath wafted across his ear. Saiki reminded himself to decontaminate after this little outing.
Kaidou burst out laughing, but quickly shrank as Nendou's breath caressed his ear as well. Nendou's incessant requests for details on his exceptionally ugly face fell on deaf ears as he cycled between them all the way to the ramen shop.
The place had a mom and pop shop feel to it. Nice, cozy, and not crowded. Saiki figured out that the husband and wife lived above the shop, which explained why they were able to maintain continuity very well. The wife cheerfully greeted them, took their orders, and went to the back to go prepare the food. X-ray vision told Saiki that the husband was in the back, fussing neurotically over the quality of the noodles. Nendou and Kaidou were noisy as usual arguing about some online game they played together. The food came out quickly so they weren't able to get far, not that they were going anywhere useful in the first place.
One look at the ramen would tell you it was of the highest quality. The meat and egg had been cooked to perfection. There was a light steam rising from the bowl. Digging into it, the broth was a masterclass in simple cooking done extraordinarily well. It was immediately obvious that this recipe had been passed down for generations. One would guess they had started making the broth days before. The food was ready to eat right away, not a hint of burn on the tongue to be found. The pork fell apart perfectly and had been infused by the broth well enough to get a concentrated burst of flavor. The noodles were springy enough to maintain their shape but did not clump or feel undercooked. And of course, they had infused in the broth just as well as the pork. Saiki would never cheat on coffee jelly but this was the first to truly test his commitment. Kaidou had gotten very lucky to be treated to ramen this divine.
Why can't I be this lucky, Saiki grumbled.
How did Nendou even find this place?
"Trade secret," Nendou grinned as Kaidou had asked him the same question.
He probably used the process of elimination from going to every ramen shop in the city.
However Nendou did it, Saiki noted that he could come here if it got too hot at Café Mami.
Good job Nendou.
Feeling very satisfied, they walked home on cloud nine, and parted ways without much incident.
